~ Small sailboat cruising and related thoughts

Provisions

For this trip, I tried to pack five months worth of food and supplies. Packing this all at once wasn’t strictly necessary for this time around, but if I were setting up to sail to Alaska from Washington state, or something like that, it would be. So I wanted to know if the boat could do it, and I wanted to make a beginning on figuring out how much to bring.

The boat held up well. Fully loaded it was a good bit lower in the water, about a half-inch above the top of the antifouling waterline, which we had already raised by about 3 inches above the designed waterline. But the chines were still out of the water, and I was delighted to find that although the boat was, predictably, not nearly as light on its feet as last year, it was much more comfortable in a variety of conditions. Before, when not loaded so heavily, in a confused, crossing waves situation the boat had a snappy roll, that was uncomfortable and occasionally a little bit hazardous as far as staying in the cockpit. Susanne Altenburger explained this, when we were visiting, as being a product of the hard chines, as the boat would come onto the flats of the bilge panels and bring itself quickly back up. She also pointed out that if the boat had the originally designed taller and heavier mainmast, that this motion would be dampened by having the extra weight up high. That snappy roll is a worthwhile trade-off for this hull shape and the shorter, lighter mainmast that I’ve been using, but even better when it goes away because the boat is so well-loaded! Knowing this, I have completely stopped worrying about carrying extra books…

Here’s the list of what went into the boat:

Food:

We used to have a Food Saver home vacuum packaging machine, which eventually gave out and was replaced with a more sturdy semiprofessional version. This has been incredibly useful for packaging boat supplies. It protects food from all moisture, as well as making it keep longer because of removing the oxygen that contributes to rancidity. I think it’s the most worthwhile equipment we’ve gotten for dealing with trip supplies.

I am in fact coming home after four months. There were not enough cashews (my favorite, staple food) and Suzanne brought more to Belfast, as well as more pistachios, which is my general suppertime food, together with some kind of vegetable. The regular chocolate is running out, and I would bring four bars.

Cashews – raw organic, from Sunfood, in 2.5 pound bags – 12 bags
pistachios – raw organic, unsalted, case bought from the co-op and packaged at home in 12 bags of approximately 2 pounds each
pecans – raw organic from American Harvest, repackaged at home in 2 pound vacuum bags – four bags
macadamia nuts, raw, not in shells – from Raw from the Farm, packaged at home in vacuum bags with about one quarter pound in each, for treats – four bags

freeze-dried peas, organic, unsalted, from the natural food store – 12 packages (because we ordered a case) eight packages would have been plenty
freeze-dried organic blueberries, from the natural food store – six packages
freeze-dried organic raspberries, from the natural food store – two packages
freeze-dried organic blackberries, from the Internet– one package
raw organic kale chips, one package (still haven’t tried these!)
dried string beans, dried carrots, dried broccoli – not organic, from the Internet, mixed and vacuum packaged at home in approximately 2 ounce packs – 12 packs. These make good snacks mixed together with various nuts in an easy container for snacking

tinned sardines, BPA free, relatively low salt – 15 tins
wild Alaskan red salmon, relatively low salt, in room temperature-storage pouches – 15 pouches (these are older than they should have been, by a couple of years, and have still been fine)

Organic oatmeal/powdered coconut mix, oatmeal in bulk from the co-op, coconut from Z Natural Foods, mixed and vacuum packaged at home in approximately 2 pound packs – 8 packages, each package refills the canister for everyday use; each day 1/4 cup goes in Tupperware covered bowl, water added in evening for eating in the morning – no cooking necessary

Organic raw cacao nibs ground at home together with organic raw coconut and vacuum packaged in approximately 8 ounce packs. Nibs from Sunfood, coconut from Z natural foods (we got a 25 pound box of coconut from them, which vastly improved the price) – 6 packs, each pack refills two jars for everyday use

Mangosteen powder, from Z Natural Foods, one pound, kept in original package (food/supplement that I mix in oatmeal)

Sunflower lecithin (food/supplement that I mix in oatmeal) three small jars and most of one large jar that was already open – from Raw Love. This was more than needed – two small jars were extra.

(Just like always, including company names just to be thorough, but not receiving anything for listing them on the blog)

Wish that I had:
water in bottles to offer to company – I drink out of too many of the containers in general use on the boat
natural food root beer for special occasions and company

Farm supplies

Buckwheat groats for planting – 1/4 pound
sunflower seeds with hulls for planting – two 8 ounce packages
chard seeds for planting – one 1 ounce package
soil for planting –two 1 quart Ziploc bags (because of the fungus gnat issue, this needs to be discarded when planting new crops)
organic fertilizer
lime
worm compost – in the future I would make a mix of fertilizer, lime, and worm compost and have just one container

Magnesium oil (so-called because it feels oily, but it’s actually a magnesium/water solution) this works as completely fragrance free deodorant that is actually good for you, and is also helpful for rubbing into sore muscles and bruises

toilet paper – packed 20 rolls, received more during shore support. Should have packed two entire bulk 16-packs (used for dish washing as well as head)

Peat moss, for composting head – 20 Ziploc bags, one gallon each – this was more than needed, but one would not want to run out, they are lightweight, and if the bags hold their seal they would provide flotation, rather like kapok.

Lump charcoal for stove – 20 Ziploc bags, one gallon each, repackaged from the 7 pound bags from the natural food store. These are not briquettes, but charcoal made from chunks of actual wood, sold for fancy barbecuing, and used on AUKLET for the charcoal heater stove. Coming home in mid-October after an unusually warm fall, this is more than enough, but I would feel more comfortable with 30 bags, based on last year sailing well into the chilly fall. It’s possible to go through one bag/day when the weather is cold. It takes up a good bit of space, but is lightweight for its volume. AUKLET has more than enough space for storage – the issue in packing is overloading the boat with weight, which happens before the available storage space is filled.

Spare water filter elements – started with none, now have two

Empty gallon jugs – for storing extra rainwater, for managing water filtering process, and for replacing pee jug – started with two spares, added two more plus 2 more half-gallon jugs for replacing the cockpit “day use” jug that eventually develops algae.